New Publication on European Storm Petrel wintering areas!

Martínez, C, Roscales, J. L., Sanz-Aguilar, A., Gonzalis-Solis, J, 2019. Inferring the Wintering Distribution of the Mediterranean Populations of European Storm-Petrels Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis from Stable Isotope Analysis and Observational Field Data. Ardeola 66(1) 13-32. doi:https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.66.1.2019.ra2

Abstract: Bird migration studies have been given added impetus recently thanks to the miniaturisation of tracking devices. However, tracking methodologies have remained impractical for the smallest pelagic species and so important gaps in knowledge still exist. In the case of the European Storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus, while Atlantic populations are thought to overwinter along the south-western African coast, the winter quarters of Mediterranean birds remain more enigmatic. We performed stable isotope analysis (SIA) of C and N on P1, S8 and P10 feathers from 33 adult birds captured in three Atlantic colonies and 156 adult birds in seven western Mediterranean colonies to infer their wintering areas.

From Wikipedia

In addition, we collated all observational field data, both from peer-reviewed publications and the wider literature, to complement our inferences from SIA. Within the Atlantic, isotopic profiles of feathers moulted at the breeding grounds (P1) differed between birds captured at northern Atlantic and Canary Islands colonies, but were similar for feathers moulted in winter quarters (S8 and P10), indicating low migratory connectivity. Isotopic values of feathers from western Mediterranean birds differed from those of Atlantic birds and showed Mediterranean values for all feathers, indicating that the former overwinter in Mediterranean waters. Variance in the isotopic values was greater in winter than in breeding season feathers, suggesting that birds disperse over larger areas in winter. Isotopic values of feathers moulted during the non-breeding period could match a post-breeding movement towards the southern and eastern Mediterranean. This inference matches the distribution of the few winter reports, which are mainly concentrated in the south-central Mediterranean, mostly in the Tunisian Platform. Our results suggest that this region is the principal wintering area of Mediterranean Storm-petrels.—Martínez, C., Roscales, J.L., Sanz-Aguilar, A. & González-Solís, J. (2019). Inferring the wintering distribution of the Mediterranean populations of European Storm-petrels Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis from stable isotope analysis and observational field data.

A press release by SEO BirdLife here

GEDA at IXth INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE of the EUROPEAN MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOCIATION

A. Rotger from the GEDA co-authored a work on small-scale presence and habitat selection of the mosquito Aedes mariae on the south of Mallorca Island. The work was presented as a poster at the IX^th International Conference of the European Mosquito Control Association in La Rochelle. and awarded as  the best poster of the conference. 

Well done to the authros : Bengoa,M., Barceló, C., Rotger, A. and Lúzon, R. ! 

 
 


Other publicacions on Tiger Mosquito Aedes albopictus distribution and habitat preference on Mallorca Island can be found here and here.

Egyptian Vultures on Spanish National TV !

The work by A. Sanz-Aguilar and colleagues (here) was presented on National TV (LaSexta channel, Estacion La Sexta 25/02/2019). The report correctly insists on education as a key factor for the success al effort in wildlife conservation programs.  The egyptian voluture in Canary Islands is a successful example of scientific-based conservation actions conducted in parallel with educational programs.

New Publication on urban vs rural birds!

Luna, A., Palma, A., Sanz-Aguilar, A., Tella, J. L and Carrete, M., 2019 Personality-dependent breeding dispersal in rural but not urban burrowing owls. Scientific Report, 9, Article number: 2886 (2019)

Abstract: Dispersal propensity has been correlated with personality traits, conspecific density and predation risk in a variety of species. Thus, changes in the relative frequency of behavioural phenotypes or in the ecological pressures faced by individuals in contrasting habitats can have unexpected effects on their dispersal strategies. Here, using the burrowing owl Athene cunicularia as a study model, we test whether changes in the behavioural profile of individuals and changes in conspecific density and predation pressure associated with urban life influence their breeding dispersal decisions compared to rural conspecifics. Our results show that breeding dispersal behaviour differs between rural and urban individuals. Site fidelity was lower among rural than among urban birds, and primarily related to an individual’s behaviours (fear of humans), which has been reported to reflect individual personality. In contrast, the main determinant of site fidelity among urban owls was conspecific density. After taking the decision of dispersing, urban owls moved shorter distances than rural ones, with females dispersing farther than males. Our results support a personality-dependent dispersal pattern that might vary with predation risk. However, as multiple individuals of two populations (one urban, one rural) were used for this research, differences can thus also be caused by other factors differing between the two populations. Further research is needed to properly understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of changes in dispersal behaviours, especially in terms of population structuring and gene flow between urban and rural populations.

From: wikipedia.org

New Publication on Egyptian vulture and EU-LIFE project !

Badia‐Boher, J., Sanz-Aguilar A., de La Riva M., Gangoso, L., van Overveld, T., García-Alfonso, M., Luzardo, O. P,Suarez Pérez, A., and  Donázar, J. A. 2019 Evaluating European LIFE conservation projects: Improvements in survival of an endangered vulture. Journal of Applied Ecology, doi 10.1111/1365-2664.13350.

1. Long‐lived avian scavengers are threatened worldwide and thus, are common targets of conservation plans. However, scientific evidence of both the factors limiting populations and effectiveness of management actions are greatly needed in order to develop more efficient and successful conservation strategies.
   
2. We assessed the effectiveness of conservation actions applied within a LIFE‐Nature project aimed at improving the long‐term survival of the critically endangered Canarian Egyptian vulture: including education campaigns for public awareness and control of illegal poisoning and the modification of power lines to reduce the risk of accidents. We formulated a multievent capture–mark–recapture model to obtain estimates of survival for juvenile, subadult and adult birds accounting for probabilities of resight, recovery and losses of metal and colour rings.
3. Models supported a substantial enhancement in survival for subadult and adult birds and a moderate improvement for juveniles after the implementation of LIFE actions. Ring loss probabilities became notably high in the middle to long term.
   
4. Poisoning events became very rare after LIFE was implemented, suggesting a positive effect of environmental education and awareness campaigns. Entanglements and collisions in power lines were also efficiently mitigated. Instead, electrocutions became the most identified cause of death in the post‐LIFE stage.
   
5. Synthesis and applications. Our results highlight the improvement of survival in a threatened island vulture population after the implementation of a European LIFE conservation project. On small islands, with small human populations and few stakeholders, education and awareness campaigns can be especially effective for biodiversity conservation. We also demonstrate the need to complement conservation programmes with long‐term monitoring, which is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of actions, especially for long‐lived species

Press notes here and here.

News on urban ecology!

A new press release by E. Soto at B@leópolis on Urban Ecology, inspired by the work of Alvaro Luna. Alvaro is a Ph.D student supervised by A. Sanz-Aguilar (from the GEDA) and M. Carrete (from the EBD-CSIC). In his book (available here and here) Alvaro compiles the most incredible cases of wild animals living in the urban enviornment, the new colonizations and the adaptations. The book identifies our cities as a new ecosystem to study and to explore.

GEDA at the 11F-Balears !

The GEDA joined the 11F-Balears during the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. A Sanz-Aguilar, M. Serra and A. Cortés-Avizanda participated to the "Science Speed Dating" (at the French international school, the Molta Barra and the Caixa Forum in Palma).
 
Marta made the point on the Grifon vulture proyect and introduced a real-size vulture model. Three persons were necessary to fully open its wings! More on 11F activities here.

New Publication on Invasive species and uncertainty models ! (and Cover)

Senar, J.C., Arroyo, L., Ortega-Segalerva, A., Carrillo, J.G., Tomas, X., Montalvo, T., Sanz-Aguilar, A., 2019 Estimating age‐dependent survival when juveniles resemble females: Invasive ring‐necked parakeets as an example Ecology and Evolution https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4366

Photo M Cabrera

Abstract: Many species only show sexual dimorphism at the age of maturity, such that juveniles typically resemble females. Under these circumstances, estimating accurate age‐specific demographic parameters is challenging. Here, we propose a multievent model parameterization able to estimate age‐dependent survival using capture–recapture data with uncertainty in age and sex assignment of individuals. We illustrate this modeling approach with capture–recaptuPsittacula krameri. We analyzed capture, recapture, and resighting data (439 recaptures/resightings) of 156 ring‐necked parakeets tagged with neck collars in Barcelona city from 2003 to 2016 to estimate the juvenile and adult survival rate. Our models successfully estimated the survival probabilities of the different age classes considered. Survival probability was similar between adults (0.83, 95% CI = 0.77–0.87) and juveniles during their second (0.79, 95% CI = 0.58–0.87) and third winter (0.83, 95% CI = 0.65–0.88). The youngest juveniles (1st winter) showed a slightly lower survival (0.57, 95% CI = 0.37–0.79). Among adults, females showed a slightly higher survival than males (0.87, 95% CI = 0.78–0.93; and 0.80, 95% CI = 0.73–0.86, respectively). These high survival figures predict high population persistence in this species and urge management policies. The analysis also stresses the usefulness of multievent models to estimate juvenile survival when age cannot be fully ascertained.